Puerto Rican Church Takes Stand On Abuse

The Archbishop Of San Juan Said Victims Should Take Charges Directly To Authorities.

April 25, 2002|By Ivan Roman, San Juan Bureau

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Responding to the outcry about sexual abuse by priests, the archbishop of San Juan said the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico would investigate allegations of sexual misconduct within 72 hours and report "cases with merit" to the police.

Monsignor Roberto Gonzalez Nieves, whose diocese is investigating an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor by a priest, said Tuesday that he would be willing to expel priests who commit such offenses. But Gonzalez said he also encourages victims to complain directly to civil authorities.

"In the long run, it would be better if they went directly to the police so as not to create the impression of the church being partial to our own institution," Gonzalez said.

In the case under investigation in his diocese, Gonzalez said he relieved the priest involved of pastoral duties, for now.

Reports of six older cases in two of the island's five dioceses cropped up in the past few days, as U.S. cardinals gathered in Rome to discuss the sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

None of the investigations into those cases progressed to the next stage.

Arecibo's Bishop Inaki Mallona has been quoted as saying the most recent incident, last November, had "no substance." However, the priest involved was sent to a pastoral rehabilitation center in Mexico, reportedly to deal with alcoholism.

The priest, who denies allegations of sexual abuse, remains in the pulpit, and many in the congregation came to his defense.

Unlike the situation on the mainland, dioceses in Puerto Rico have a joint policy, approved in 1990, on dealing with cases of misconduct by priests.

Gonzalez said Wednesday's announcement was to enforce a "zero tolerance" policy, as he did when he ran the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, in the 1990s before arriving in San Juan three years ago.

As a former auxiliary bishop in the Boston diocese, Gonzalez expressed support for Cardinal Bernard Law, who is under fire for allegedly mishandling complaints of abuse by priests there.

"I'm profoundly saddened by the tragedy in Boston and in solidarity with Cardinal Law," Gonzalez said. "He should have the opportunity to continue and rectify what happened."

In the media, many local Catholics have defended the church during the current crisis, with comments that are markedly less critical than those of their counterparts on the mainland. Nevertheless, Gonzalez said, he considers the situation a wake-up call.

"We have to regain the people's confidence, and that will be a process that will take some time," Gonzalez said. "People here have not been as critical as in other places, but we've planted the seed of doubt."